The Kapil Dev-led side was not given a chance. A new side led by an inexperienced captain playing in foreign conditions against the giants of the game, it seemed very unlikely that they will go on to win their title. But it all turned out to be the perfect recipe for an underdog story which got converted into books, documentaries and most recently, a movie. As India celebrates the 39th anniversary of the famous win at the Lord’s, here is yet another look at India’s fairytale journey to the top.
The dream start
India's 1983 World Cup campaign got off to a dream start. Against the mighty West Indies, India's middle-order batter Yashpal Sharma stood strong and scored 89 to help post 262/8 at the iconic Old Trafford, Manchester. Indian batters stood up to the menacing West Indies fast bowlers and the scoreboard pressure helped the underdogs. None of the West Indies batters could capitalise on their starts. Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri took three wickets each whereas two crucial run outs helped India beat defending champions by 34 runs.
Easy win
Riding high on the confidence of first win, Indian bowlers rushed through Zimbabwe's batting lineup. Madan Lal turned out to be the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for 27 runs. Chasing 156, half-century from Sandeep Patil and Mohinder Amarnath's 44-run knock helped India win the match by five wickets with 135 balls remaining.
Proper thrashing
India got their first reality check when they faced Australia. After opting to bat first, opener Trevor Chappell's 110 backed by half-centuries from Kim Hughes (52) and Graham Yallop helped Australia post a daunting total of 320/9. Apart from Kapil who took a fifer, none of the Indian bowlers could make an impact and leaked runs. In the absence of Gavaskar, India's middle order collapsed. Kris Srikkanth (39) showed some resistance at the top but it did not help. Kapil entertained the crowd with 27-ball 40 but India's run chase was wrapped up for 158 with 22.1 overs left in the innings. Ken MacLeay took 6/39 as India lost the match by a huge margin of 162 runs.
All Richards show
After a massive loss to Australia, India faced West Indies in the fourth game. The legendary Sir Viv Richards dominated Indian bowlers and scored a match-winning 119. In reply to West Indies' 282/9, India lost their openers early. Mohinder Amarnath and Vengsarkar got the run chase back on track but the latter getting retired hurt dented India's hopes. Out for revenge, West Indies bowlers were lethal. After Amarnath's valiant 80-run knock, India could not take the chase deep and got all out for 216 in the 54th over, losing the game by 66 runs.
A knock to remember for ages
After two consecutive losses, Indian team lacked confidence. Zimbabwe bowlers caught Indian top-order napping and reduced them to 17/5. Then, Kapil played an innings of lifetime to rescue India from a losing position. Kapil's then record-breaking knock made many wonder why the match was not given a priority and hence not televised. He scored an unbeaten 175 to help India post a fighting total of 266/8. Zimbabwe were in the run chase despite losing few too many wickets in the middle overs. Kevin Curran (73) kept Zimbabwe in the hunt but Madan Lal did his magic with the old ball to hand India a 31-run win.
The revenge
After a thrashing in the first game against Australia, India posted a fighting total of 247 as they got all out with 25 balls left in the innings. No Indian batter went on to score a half-century. Yashpal top-scored with a run-a-ball 40. Indian seamers did the rest as Australia's innings was bundled out for 129. While Madan Lal and Roger Binny took four wickets each, Balwinder Sandhu took two wickets in the match.
The semi-final
The hosts England were not allowed to dominate after they won the toss and elected to bat first. None of the English batter went on to get a big score. Chasing 214, India got off to a slow start. After Mohinder Amarnath's 92-ball 46, Yashpal Sharma was playing the anchor role as well. But then Sandeep Patil took on the attacking approach instead of taking the game deep. Patil's 32-ball 51 helped India get past the line in the 55th over to win the match by six wickets and reach the final.
The ultimate test
The final of 1983 World Cup had the perfect ingredients of a typical Bollywood masala film. At first, Indi faced disappointment in the form of a batting collapse. The crucial contributions from the lower-order batters helped India post a near-respectable total of 183 to make a game out of it. Despite the first wicket falling early, India's biggest obstacle was Richards. The in-form batter was demolishing Indian fast bowlers and was looking to end the run chase early.
But then, Madan Lal asked for that extra over and Kapil Dev took a fine catch to tilt the proceedings in India's favour. More wickets in the middle-overs derailed West Indies' run chase. Wicketkeeper-batter Jeff Dujon and Malcolm Marshall had Indians biting their nails with the frustrating partnership but Mohinder Amarnath did the trick for India with the double blow. West Indies got bundled out for 140 as India won the final by 43 runs and got their hands on the maiden World Cup trophy which would inspire millions back home.
